Free Before the Darkness (Refuge Inc.) by Leslie Lee Sanders Page A

crisis. What would that make you if
    you'd done that to her? A total asshole." He
    shook his head and continued walking, leaving
    Adam.
    It occurred to Adam that Elliot could be
    right. However, uneasiness crept inside him
    from seeing Elliot turn his back on him. He
    followed. "I opened up to you. I told you things
    I've never told anyone, and you walk away from
    me?"
    "I'm still by your side." Elliot glanced over
    his shoulder at him. "And even though you're in
    your own personal crisis, I'm not Jena. I'm not
    gonna leave you. Sidekick, remember?"
    Adam's eyebrows pulled together and he
    put his hand on Elliot's shoulder, stopping him.
    "So you forgive me for earlier, then?" He stared,
    pleading with his eyes. The last thing he wanted
    to do was cause a rift between him and the only
    friend he had.
    Elliot looked over to him and could
    barely keep eye contact. "I've been rejected
    before. I'm a big boy, I'll live." He kept walking.
    Adam was more than impressed by
    Elliot's strength, he was a bit envious of his
    courage to come out and be himself. He wished
    he was as courageous. Either way, Elliot was
    right about everything. Adam owed him more
    than a handful of lies, because he hadn't left him.
    Pathetic, he was still in love with someone who
    had.
    He continued following Elliot, shining the
    light as far ahead of them as it would go. Then
    he saw it, a huge car insurance ad plastered on a
    billboard which had toppled over and now lay
    on the side of the road. What caught his eye was
    the R with a circle around the center that was
    spray painted on the billboard with black spray
    paint. He quickly pulled the crumpled lyer out
    of his pocket.
    "Elliot," he called out, adrenaline rushed
    through his veins at the possibility. "Look at
    this."
    Elliot took the orange lyer out of his
    hand. "Yeah? So?"
    "Look." He pointed the light to the
    downed sign. "It's Refuge Inc. Heard of that? A
    secure future?"
    "No." Elliot's frowned, examining the
    flyer. "What is it?"
    Could it be refuge, shelter, and other
    people? "Not sure. I found that at Food Plus."
    "Yeah, I saw them too. Millions of them
    everywhere." He handed it back to Adam, and
    stared at the fallen billboard. "I thought they
    were just trash and just ignored them."
    Adam stared too and noticed a spray
    painted arrow on the corner pointing in the
    direction they were going. "Look at the arrow.
    Let's follow it." He took the lead, his steps
    hastened as his adrenaline surged. "Don’t know
    what this means. Maybe it's a gathering place for
    survivors?"
    "You think?" Elliot eyes widened in
    excitement, that Adam heard in his voice.
    When were the flyers placed at the store?
    No one would have printed them and scattered
    them around an abandoned and destroyed
    grocery store for potential survivors, or would
    they? Or worse, someone placed those lyers in
    the store long before the impact. But that would
    mean they knew about the asteroid much longer
    than when news inally broke. Was it possible?
    Of course it was. NASA could detect a threat
    from space a decade in advance or more.
    Probably. If so why didn't they give everyone
    adequate warning? What use would it have
    done if they couldn't prevent the worst from
    happening
    anyway?
    But
    something
    else
    occurred to him. The thought of some elaborate
    government cover-up troubled him, but
    government cover-ups and conspiracies were
    the last thing he wanted on his mind right now.
    The streets were littered with abandoned
    cars, trucks and even bright yellow school
    busses. The sidewalk was riddled with cracks
    and in some places the sidewalk was completely
    severed, which Adam igured was dangerous, so
    they stuck to the street, weaving in and out of
    the cars. Titan followed closely behind, panting
    with every limp.
    Elliot laughed softly. "If we ind other
    people I'm gonna fall down in tears, I'm warning
    you."
    Adam chuckled, feeling his eyes grow
    narrow and the dimples around his mouth
    crease with his smile. They were